Wire-forming machine



J. S. KEPLER.

WIRE FORMING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 3,1917- 7 1,304,780. Patented May 27, 1919.

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WITNESS.

A TTORNEYJ .I. S. KEPLEII. I WIRE FORMING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FIL ED JULY-1 917- 1,304,780. I Patented May 27,1919.

4 SHEETSSHEET 2.-

% IIII I u GD ISEMI III WITNESS: INVENTOR J. S. KEPLER.

WIRE FORMING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 3.1917

Patented May 27, 1919.

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IN VE IV T01? A TTORNEYJ J. S. KEPLER. WI RE FORMING MACH INE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 3.19M.

Patented May 27, 1919.

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N n I INVENTOI? 9 u 3 MM A fro/Mp5 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JESSE S. KEPLER, OF DAYTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO GAP-HOLD INCORPORATED, OFNEW roan, N. Y., A conrom'rron on NEW YORK.

WIRE-FORMING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 27, 1919.

Application filedJuly 3, 1917. Serial No. 178,436.

' retaining device for the caps of deformable tubes, which consistsessentially of a piece of wire so shaped as to engage the cap andencircle the threads on the neck of the .tube,

so as to be threaded on and off of the 'neck I with the cap. The presentinvention is concerned with a machine for forming wire retainers of thegeneral type described. The general objects of the invention are toprovide such a machine which shall be effective to perform therequiredwork with a maximum capacity and of such relatively simple constructionas to minimiz'eitsliability to derangement during operation. The detailsof the machine will appear fully from the following description of theappended drawings, in which j Figure 1 is a fragmentary View inplan ofso much of the machine as is necessary for an understanding of thegeneral cycle of operations in the formation of the retainer wire.

Fig. 2 is a view somewhat similar to Fig. 1, but on a somewhat largerscale, some of the parts being broken away or omitted in the interest ofclearness.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail view in, sect ion, taken along the planeindicated by the hue 3-3 of Fig. 2 and looking in the direction of thearrows.

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view, taken on the planes indicated by thebroken lines 4-4, of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view, taken along the plane indicatedby the line5-5 of Fig. 1- and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 6'is a fragmentary. sectional viewtaken along the planes indicatedby the broken lines 66 of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of thearrows.

Fig. 7 "shows the wire retainer in successive stages of its formation.

Before proceeding with the'description of the machine itself and thedevices for shaping the Wire retainer into the desired form, it will bewell to refer to Fig. 7 in which the retainer Wire lettered F is shownin its completed form. This retainer, it will be noticed, is formed witha loop F which is of the diameter of the neck of the tube along thethreads of which the retainer is to be threaded. This loop terminates intwo legs F at the ends of Which are formed eyes F which may engage lugscast with the cap of the tube. This general form of the retainer isdisclosed in the aforesaid patent. The several views of Fig. 7 letteredAF show the successive stages of the formation of the wire retainer inthe improved machine according to the operations performed. For-.instance, view A shows the/straight strand of wire cut to length. Thenext view B shows this Wire with eyes formed at its opposite ends. ViewsC and D show the loop F bent in the wire with the eyes extendingtherefrom. View E shows the legs F of the wire bent at an angle with theplane of the movement so that only such length of wire is presented totheforming devices as is predetermined. The wire '03 after passing overthe friction spools e is threaded along a channel fin a sliding block fwhere it is exposed to and may be engaged periodically by an eccentricfrictional clamp g which is p1voted on the guide block 7'; "From theguide block. the wire extends through a guide tube for theformiu'goperations to be described. The step-by-step feeding of the wireis obtained by reciprocating the guide block f, the wire dmeanwhile'being held against relative movement with relation to 'theblock by its engagement by the clamping lever 9'. These reciprocationsare obtained bv 7 connecting .theend of the clamping lever g operativelywith a cam b on the cam shaft b (see Fig. 6). Thisconnection may comrise a link g secu red adj ustably to the end 0 one arm 9 of a bellcrank lever, the other arm g of which is formed with a sector in meshwith a reciprocable rack bar 9 the free end of which carries a roller 9which rides on mined by the length of travel of the rack bar. When thecam 6 permits the, rack bar ,1 to move in the opposite direction, thelever clamp g is drawn out of engagement with the wire and the block fis slid in the opposite direction.

Following the forward movement of the wire in the manner describedthrough the guide tube G a vertically disposed reciprocating knife h isforced upward across the inner end of the tube G, thereby shearing thewire to length. This knife is shown most clearly in Figs. 3 and 4. Itcomprises a simple plunger 71/ extending vertically through the plate aand engaged operatively by a rocker arm 11 connected operatively with acam a" on the cam shaft 6, whereby the knife is forced upwardly acrossthe inner end of the guide tube G at the proper time to cut the wire tolength. The length of wire thus out is held in position for the formingoperations by means of a finger is which presses the wire against afixed anvil block Z carried onthe under-face of a cover plate Z for,certain of the parts to be referred to later. The finger k which ispivoted in the frame a is connected operatively by a link a bell cranklever 0 and rod 707 to a cam c on the cam shaft 0. The action of the camis to rock the finger k in such a manner as to alternately press thelength of wire, such as is shown in Fig. 7 A, against the fixed anvil Zand release it at the desired time. The length of wire maintained in theposition described may rest ona sliding plate H which reciprocateshorizontally on the plate a and is disposed immediately beneath theanvil Z. This plate, as shown in Fig. 2, is slotted at its front edge,as at H, to straddle the finger 70 when the latter is rocked to pressthe wire against the anvil.

The straight strand of wire being held agamst the anvil Z, the firstoperation is to form the eyesin its end indicated in Fig. 7, D. Theseeyes are formed by cam fingers m on spaced oscillating shafts m at thecenter of each of which is a projectin pin m about which the wire is tobe twisted. The shafts m just described are journaled horizontally onthe plate a and carry at their rear ends suitable devices foroscillating them for the formation of the eyes in the wire. The meansfor producing this oscillation periodically consists of opposedreciprocable rack bars m which engage, respectively, pinions 'm. carriedon the rear ends of the shafts m. These rack bars as described arereciprocated against the action of a spring m by their operativeconnection with a cam 0 on the cam shaft 0, this cam 0 being engagedconstantly by means of a roller m onthe extreme end of the racks.Referring now to Fig. 3, it will be seen that the wire after being ledthrough the guide tube G passes between the proan oscillationsimultaneously by the racks m and inthis way the eyes are formed in thewire at the opposite ends thereof.

The next step in the shaping of the wire is to form the loop shown inFig. 7, C. This loop is formed by pressing the wire around the curvedanvil block Z. This pressing is done by means ofsasliding bar 11, theforward end of which is slotted, as at n, to straddle the finger is,this forward end also being curved to conform generally to the curvatureof the anvil block Z, so that when the bar a is forced forward the wirewill be pressed around the curved anvil block Z and into snug engagementtherewith. The required reciprocations of the forming bar at may beimparted to it from the cam shaft 0 by means of a suitable link n andbell crank lever a the movement of the bar in one direction beingopposed by a spring a secured thereto, so that the bar is returned toits normal position when released by the controlling cam on the camshaft 0.

The anvil block Z, instead of being circular, is formed at its rearside, away fromthe wire, with'inclined rearwardly extendopposed formers0 which are inclined to one another and have at their ends angular noses0 which are adapted to be forced into direct engagement with the wireand to press the wire into the sharp recess between the inclined faces Zand the curved portion. The character of these formers is best shown inFig. 2 wherein are also shown adjusting devices in the form of thumbscrews 0 whereby the relation of the formers to the anvil may be readilyadjusted. The sliding carriers 0 in which the formers are supported areprovided with rack teeth on them side edges and these rack teeth engagere-' them snugly against the inclined side'faces Z of the anvil Z. Incarrying the wire forward by means of the reciprocating bar n in themanner just described, the eyes in the ends of the wire are kicked offtheir respective pins m by means of pivoted fingers p, to which anoscillatory movement may be imparted I in proper phase relation 'to theother operations of the machine from a cam b on the cam shaft 1) througha bell crank b and connecting link I) in a manner which appears clearlyfrom Figs. 3 and 4. These fingers p at the required time are thrustforward and serve to press the ends of the wire toward the anvil Z.

Simultaneously with the crimping of the legs with relation to the loopthe formers o, cooperating with the rearwardly extending portion of theanvil faces 1 turn the legs of the wire retainer up from the plane ofthe loop in the manner indicated in Fig. 7, E. It is desirable to offsetthe eyes from the plane of the loop in this manner, so that when theretainer is in use the eyeswill be substantially in the plane of thecapwhile the loop will be below the edge thereof. For

the purpose of giving these legs their iiiclination to the plane of theloop, the rear faces Z of the anvil Z are beveled downwardly while thefront ends of the formers 0 are correspondingly beveled upwardly, as at0", to cooperate with the faces of the anvil. When the formers begintheir inward travel to crimp the legs, it is to be understood that thelegs lie between the ends of the formers and the beveled faces I of theanvil. When the legs are stueezed between the faces Z and the beveleends of the formers o the are thrust upwardly along the beveled en s ofthe formers with the eyes until they take some such inclination to theplane of the loop as is indicated in Fig. 7, E.

Upon the completion of the described operations, the supporting plate Hfor the wire is retracted by 1ts operative connection through linkage Hwitha cam c on the cam v shaft c. This linkage includes a reciprocatingbar H supported on the plate a and carrying a. roller H which restsconstantly against the face of the cam c. Simultaneously with theretraction of the plate H in the manner described, the finger k isrocked out of engagement with the wire-dthereby permitting the wire tofall freely through an opening in the plate a to any suitable receptacletherebeneath. -When thus discharged it will be in the completed formshown in. Fig. 7, F.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that mechanicalequivalents for some of the elements employed may be substituted toequal advantage, but all such mere substitutions are to, be deemedwithin the scope of this invention, the spirit of which contemplates theprovision of a complete machine having the forming elements thereof socoordinated/in operation as to produce with a maximum capacity thepeculiar wire retainer shown in Fig. 7

I claim as my invention:

1. A machine for forming wire retainers of the character described,comprising in combination a step-by-step feed for the wire strand, areciprocating knife for cutting the wire'to length, devices to coil theends of the wire, a curved anvil, a former cooperating therewith to loopthe wire circularly and opposed formers cooperating with the anvil tocrimp the legs of the wire, said anvil having beveled rearfaces and thelast named a opposed formers having correspondingly beveled front facesto press the legs up the beveled sides and incline them to the plane ofthe loop.

2. A machine for forming wire retainers of the character describedhaving a reciprocating former bar provided with a curved recess in itsend, means to move the bar transversely of .the wire, a curved fixedanvil around which the wire is pressed by the bar to form a circularopen loop, beveled side faces tt the rear side of the anvil, inclinedopposed former bars having beveled side faces corresponding with thebeveled faces of the anvil to cooperate therewith and press the legs ofthe wirevalon'g the beveled faces to an inclined position with relationto the plane 'of the loop. 1

This specification signed this 29th day of I June, 1 D. 1917.

- v JESSE S. KEPLER.

